(SIOUX CITY, IA) - The Upper Midwest is a hotbed for wrestling. Now the chance to ultimately win Olympic gold may be stripped away. The International Olympic Committee wants to drop the sport starting with the 2020 Summer Games.
Wrestlers pour sweat for years and years to make it to the Olympics, but the IOC's decision to drop wrestling from the Olympics has Siouxland wrestlers shaking their heads.
"That's pretty messed up. It's one of the original sports. It's like our NFL," said South Sioux City Junior wrestler Nathan Hinds.
"I think it shuts a lot of doors for people's futures," said Sammy Flores, another junior wrestler at South Sioux.
"That's really the top echelon of where kids train. I had dreams of being an Olympic wrestler when I was a kid and that's something you strive for," said South Sioux City's Head Wrestling Coach, Travis Volk.
Wrestling goes all the way back to the inaugural modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.
"There are some kids out there in high school that are training to be the future Olympians. Well, what do you tell them now? Sorry, you're done. We're not going to do it anymore," said Volk.
At the college level, that Olympic dream is even closer. Morningside College wrestlers agree the Olympics wouldn't be the same without their sport.
"I know just from living in the Midwest, wrestling being a huge part of people's lives in Iowa, I know it's a big deal. I mean this morning when I got on Facebook the first thing I saw was everybody talking about it," said Jordan Langley, a junior wrestler at Morningside College.
"I'm a little fearful that it's going to hurt the numbers and the people that look forward to collegiate wrestling," said Morningside Wrestling Head Coach, Jake Stevenson.
Lack of international popularity contributed to the IOC's recommendation, but coaches worry the decision could impact how many kids take up wrestling in the United States.
Tuesday's decision is not final. Wrestling is competing with seven other sports for one spot on the Olympics list including baseball, softball, karate, squash, roller sports, sport climbing, wakeboarding, and a martial arts form called Wushu.
Statement from Nebraska Wrestling Head Coach Mark Manning on the IOC''s recommendation to drop wrestling from the 2020 Olympics:
"Removing wrestling from the Olympics would have a far-reaching impact on our sport. It not only greatly affects our current Olympic athletes and future Olympians, but it would also damage the sport at the collegiate, high school and youth levels. Wrestling is the sixth-most popular boys' high school sport in the United States with more than 275,000 participants, and at the collegiate level we have sold out the NCAA Championships the past four years, so the interest and passion for the sport is widespread. Hopefully, the IOC will take into account the impact of this decision on the American and international wrestling communities, and re-consider when they meet in May."
